Thursday, February 18, 2010

I was going to prepare a cynical post for today, but my heart just isn't in it.

Why? Well, I actually had a bright ray of sunshine beam into my otherwise depressing quest to find a job today...or something like that (metaphors aren't my strong suit).

Today, I was asked to come in for an interview. This is a serious, full time position that is not law related at all - in the non-legal world, I think it's called a "job".

Obviously, I can't count my chickens before they hatch, but after sending out reams of resumes with nary a response (not even a rejection letter), this is exciting news. At least I stand a chance of somebody reading my resume.

I'll keep you posted with how I handle the inevitable, "Why on earth did you go to law school?" question.

Also, here's a little bit more good news for all my fellow job seekers. I left my J.D. on my resume. While this may be a fluke, those two letters apparently don't automatically relegate your resume to the circular file.

I have a lot of preparation to do for this interview, but I'll do my best to get another "feature" article out in the near future.

11 comments:

That's great news! I'm in a position similar to yours (although I practiced for two years before deciding to call it quits). For what it's worth, up here in Canada we have similar issues with people wanting to jump ship. Good luck.

Please let us know how you answered the why did you attend law school question and what the interviewer's reaction was. Or if they don't ask the question how you handled the topic if it came up in the interview. Good luck!

Good luck, EN! If nothing else, it is a tiny bit nice to hear that a JD is getting a nonlegal interview. EN, did you have previous work experience before law school? Please share at some point how you happened to get this 'view.I actually had an interview for a nonlegal job this week (through a friend of a friend- pure luck) and I'm not sure they were convinced I would stick around and they were definitely hesitant about the whole JD thing. I tried as best I could to convey that I was DONE with law, but, no word yet one way or another.

Good luck! Dealing with the "WHY aren't you practicing law????" quesition is annoying, but if you were, or were going to be, an attorney, hopefully you have learned the fine art of bullshitting. In my experience, most HR types were satisfied with a simple answer ("it wasn't for me") or understood that sometimes the career decisions you make in your 20s won't stick for life.

I'm a drop out who now works in a creative field. Several JD friends of mine are now very happily pursuing non-legal career paths (finance, teaching, one guy is personal trainer/swim coach). Making the transition can be tough, but it is absolutely doable. Honestly, I cannot say that job hunting was more stressful than law school.

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About Me

I'm a 2nd Tier Toilet...err, Law School Graduate who has realized that the law isn't for me. I'll be sharing my quest to find a successful career in another field while also trying to expose the law school scam.